Is Wright a competitor or ...you pick

[RLA68]

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASAp...=.jsp&c_id=nyy

NEW YORK -- As Jaret Wright entered the dugout following a scoreless fourth inning Saturday and passed in front of Joe Torre, the Yankees manager grabbed his left arm enthusiastically.
"That's it! That's who you are -- a competitor," said Torre, liking the fact the right-hander had put up a zero after a couple of rough innings.

As Torre gripped him, Wright winced. Sunday, Torre was left wishing he hadn't misinterpreted the gesture.

"When he did that, I didn't know if he was in competitive mode or if something was bothering him," Torre said. "If I knew him personally a little more, I may have been able to detect something."

Two innings later, Wright doubled over in pain after delivering a pitch and had to come out with an as-yet-undetermined shoulder pain.

The Yankees will have a clearer idea of Wright's problem following an MRI on Monday. But Torre had a clear idea of what the pitcher's problem had been Saturday -- not letting on that he pitched most of the day with growing discomfort in the shoulder.

"You're not angry (that he didn't say anything), but it is disappointing," Torre said. "I feel bad. You know these guys are competitors. In Spring Training, I talk about pitchers who don't say anything and never pitch again. You try to scare players with that kind of information.

"Especially someone who's had arm problems ... we all feel bad about it. You just hope that between the time he felt it and came out, nothing was done that can't be fixed."

Wright, 29, has had multiple surgeries -- clavicle, labrum and rotator cuff -- on his pitching shoulder. He experienced no setbacks during a strong comeback season with Atlanta in 2004, when he won 15 times in 32 starts and logged 186 1/3 innings.

Mr. Bean: As Wright's temporary replacement on the staff, Colter Bean was called up from Columbus to not pitch. Nothing personal, but Torre hopes the finesse right-hander spends his first week in the big leagues out of sight.

With Tanyon Sturtze on the disabled list, Bean gives the Yankees a long-winded reliever if a starter falters early.

"He's a stopgap guy for us. He gives us some protection," Torre said of Bean, who had yet to allow a run in seven games and 8 1/3 innings for the Clippers. "He doesn't knock your eyes out with his stuff, but he manages to get people out all the time."

Bean agreed with his manager's assessment. He does keep it simple.

"I'm throwing strikes, they're catching balls ... that's all I know what to do," said Bean, the new No. 58 in your scorebook. "I'll stick with that, till someone says I can't do it, or they start killing me."

Typically, Bean was awed by his first few minutes in the Yankees locker room. He'd caught a 6 a.m. flight from Louisville, and was fueled by adrenaline.

"Good times. No big deal," he said of his lack of sleep. "This is what you work for. After that, you work to stay here."

His tenure is expected to be brief. Wright's rotation spot comes up on Saturday, when the Yankees are expected to swap out Bean for a starter, most likely Chien Ming Wang.

Rundown drill: The Yankees need to stay perfect for the rest of this month to extend their Major League record of consecutive winning Aprils to 14. They went into Sunday's game 7-11 in the opening month, with six games to go. ... Randy Johnson faced the Majors' top homer-hitting club -- the Rangers had 25 in 19 games -- after having allowed five long balls in consecutive starts for the first time in his 483-start career. ... Andy Phillips made his first start of the season at first base, giving Tino Martinez a rest.

[RockSports17]

Hopefully Wright comes back healthy. I still think he can pitch well in NY.

[RLA68]

I guess it is past the time to play Monday morning QB but I wish we would have kept Lieber or even went after Milton. Milton could not do any worse than what Wright has done.

I certainly hope he comes back and does well but I am not betting the house on it.

What big mistake the Yankees made the winter of 2003 in not locking up Pettite, IMO. Yes, he was injured last year in Houston but he was always Mr. Reliable. Just a thought.

[RockSports17]

Maybe he was reliable. But I always felt uneasy when he was on the mound. I didn't feel like we would win with him on the mound. I was happy to see him go. Not to mention, he's injury prone now.

As of right now, we could definitely use Milton or Lieber. But I hope that our pitching just picks it up, and proves Yankees didn't make a mistake.

[RLA68]

We had such of a string of making all the right moves 1996-2000...it is evening itself out. I hope that we are due for some good things.

[Miss November]

I don't know about Wright. I don't wanna judge the guy after three, four starts, but I will say I'm not liking what I see so far. But if he's doing bad, I couldn't tell because who in the rotation is doing that much better than him. We all need to pick up. When everyone is where they need to be and Wright is still in his funk then we can start pointing fingers.

[Saber]

Dude, it's not like he had any extensive history of shoulder problems prior to this. I wouldn't worry about it.

[RLA68]

I am not worried. We have a clause in his contract.